This application claims the priority from the European Patent Application No. 01 124 281.5, filed on Oct. 18, 2001, of which the entire disclosure shall be considered to be included in the present application by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for a stepwise feeding of a strip-shaped article. It also relates to twin feeding apparatuses for a stepwise feeding of at least one strip-shaped article and including two feeding apparatuses of the kind set forth above.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such apparatuses are used for instance for a stepwise feeding of a metal strip to and through a press, specifically a punch press, in which punch press tools for processing such a metal strip for instance by punching, embossing, bending, riveting, and so on are installed.
The stepwise feeding of the strip-shaped article can proceed as is conventional by linearly oscillating gripper members or by oscillatingly rotating or intermittently rotating, resp. feeding rollers.
Depending from the product which is proceed in such punch presses, metal strips of various widths such as for instance in the range between about 20 Millimeters and 450 Millimeters are processed, and also simultaneously two such strips which are arranged side by side.
Accordingly, apparatuses for feeding such strips to and through a punch press must be of differing designs, depending from a respective strip or from respective strips which is or are, resp. to be processed so to be able to cope with the prevailing strip or strips, respectively. This results obviously in considerable production costs for a manufacturer because due a multitude of differently designed feeding apparatuses are needed.
Hence, it is a general object of the invention to provide an apparatus for a stepwise feeding of a strip-shaped article, which apparatus enables a feeding of strip-shaped articles, possibly in a twin design, of various widths, and also simultaneous feeding of two strip-shaped articles.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for a stepwise feeding of a strip-shaped article which apparatus has a frame, a first and a second feeding roller, which feeding rollers are adapted to receive between themselves the strip-shaped article to be fed, has a means for driving the two feeding rollers, which means are drivingly connected to the two feeding rollers and are adapted to drive the feeding rollers to oscillate and to contrarotate relative to each other, further having a rocker which has a first end and a second end located opposite of the first end, which first feeding roller is supported for rotation in the frame in a non displaceable state and which second feeding roller is supported for rotation in the rocker, which second feeding roller includes an axis, further has means for moving the rocker, which means are connected to the rocker and are adapted to move the rocker including the feeding roller supported therein towards to first feeding roller into a feeding position and away from the first feeding roller into a return position, which rocker moving means include a control means which communicates with the feeding roller driving means and includes a translatory moveable rod member guided for an upwards and downwards movement, which rod member is mounted to the first end of the rocker and is adapted to move the rocker together with the second feeding roller supported in same, which rocker moving means is adapted to move the second feeding roller at a point of time of a reversal of a first sense of rotation of the oscillating feeding rollers into the feeding position, and at a point of time of a reversal of a second sense of rotation of the feeding rollers into the return position, which second feeding roller includes an axis, has, furthermore, a first pressure spring having a first end and a second end, which pressure spring rests at its first end on the rocker at a point between the axis of the second feeding roller and the second end of the rocker, and rests at its second end opposite of the first end on the frame, which pressure spring is adapted to act onto the rocker from the same side as the rod member and in a direction substantially parallel to a direction of movement of the rod member, has, furthermore, a clamping bar mounted to the rocker and a stationary clamping bar counter member mounted to the frame, which clamping bar is biased by the first pressure spring against the stationary counter members in order to arrest a respective strip-shaped article when the second feeding roller is in its return movement position, and is lifted off the stationary counter member when the second feeding roller is in its feeding movement position, which rocker is supported one-sided for rotation in a cantilever structure which in turn is supported for rotation in a non displaceable state.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a twin feeding apparatus which includes two feeding apparatuses having feeding rollers, which apparatuses face each other of the side of their feeding members.
The advantages of the invention are seen mainly in that the apparatus can be applied alone as single apparatus for a feeding of strip-shaped articles of various widths, but can also be applied in a twin arrangement having two such apparatuses facing each other for a parallel feeding of two adjacently located strip-shaped article, and allows also a twin apparatus arrangement in which the two single apparatuses are positioned at a considerable distance from each other, so that extremely broad strip-shaped articles may be fed and processes.